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Tire reviews & comparisons

Ozmen

Hi Folks. I'm Ozmen, and I work as a tire designer. I understand finding a tire isn't easy, as there are so many variables involved. But with me around, tire selection would never bother you again.

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BF Goodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S PLUS

BF Goodrich g-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus Review

The BF Goodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus exhibits a mix of strengths and weaknesses. First off, it excels in dry lateral grip thanks to its spirally wound internal cap ply, where in wet, it comes out with pretty amazing hydroplaning resistance, with its efficient directional tread pattern. However, it underperforms in (dry) directional grip due to the presence of significant voids in the tire’s central area, leading to compromised stopping ability. And needs some help in its wet steering response. And while I'm at discussing cons, the tire struggles with on-road noise generation and impact absorption, resulting in a less comfortable and noisier ride, primarily due to its aggressive tread design and less pliant structure. And for its pros, the tire offers pretty decent fuel economy (for its category), and you also get a good enough tread life too, where the tire gives you 45k miles warranty (though this could have further improved if the tire had slightly greater tread depth).

Nexen N5000 Platinum

Nexen N5000 Platinum Review

The Nexen N5000 Platinum is a versatile all-season tire, notable for its impressive straight-line grip and efficient braking, due to its continuous rib design and innovative siping. Its dry handling is commendable with stable shoulders providing ample lateral grip and steering feedback. Though in wet conditions, the tire is somewhat lacking, with its missing interlocking sipes and stiffer tread impacting its overall wet handling and stopping efficacy. Moreover, its winter performance is also suboptimal, with a noticeable absence of specialized features for snow and ice, resulting in compromised grip. Though the tire makes up for it with its superb fuel economy, tread wear, and noise reduction. This is all thanks to its lightweight design, reduced rolling resistance, and balanced weight distribution. And yes, it also pretty quiet on roads, thanks to its new gen tread compound, though it's impact comfort performance could use a bump up.

Firestone WeatherGrip

Firestone WeatherGrip Review

The Firestone WeatherGrip offers a mixed bag of results. The tire is simply outstanding when it comes to wet and winter conditions, thanks to its superior siping and innovative traction technologies. However, it struggles in dry performance, with notable issues in braking distances and lateral grip due to considerable tread voids and slower steering responses it gives out. Though despite these shortcomings in dry performance and a constant but moderate road noise, the tire offers commendable fuel efficiency and tread life due to its lightweight and thoughtful design.

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+

Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ Review

The Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ offers both impressive features and areas needing improvement. It gives you a nice directional and handling grip in dry conditions, (attributed to its stable internal cap plies), where you also get a very responsive steering response too. The tire also shines in wet performance, leading in handling times and providing reliable wet braking due to its superior siping structure. Conversely, it struggles with fuel efficiency due to its greater weight and pliant tread, resulting in higher rolling resistance. Though its tread life is acceptable, where its deeper tread depth with a well-crafted tread pattern allows it to have a 50k miles warranty. But it seriously needs a bump up in the comfort department, where its very noisy and does not offer a good enough impact comfort performance (where it lacks post-impact smoothness).

Kumho Crugen HT51

Kumho Crugen HT51 Review

The Kumho Crugen HT51 stands out with diverse performance attributes, showcasing distinctive strengths and areas for improvement across various metrics. It excels in wet conditions and snow, with specialized tread designs contributing to impressive traction and hydroplaning resistance. However, it falls short in dry, particularly in braking distances (directional grip), which also affects its overall handling. Though the tire balances it with its notable impact comfort and minimized noise levels, thanks to its softer compound and advanced construction. Moreover, with solid reinforced foundations underneath its lugs, you also get above average tread life and fuel economy. Though this only goes for P metric sizes.

Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady

Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Review

In summary, the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady is a mixed bag. It excels in dry conditions with strong grip and responsive handling but falls short in wet traction due to sipe inflexibility. It offers good hydroplaning resistance and winter performance, but ride comfort and noise reduction are only moderate. While its fuel efficiency and tread life are notable, the tire's performance varies depending on the conditions, making it a versatile yet imperfect option.

Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus

Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus Review

The Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus stands out for its exceptional dry grip and handling, largely due to its well engineered tread design. So it gets to offer shorter braking distances and rapid response times, especially during cornering. The Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus has a mixed performance profile. It excels in dry conditions, offering notable grip, handling, and steering response due to its advanced tread design and stiffer rubber composition. And yes, it also comes with superior road noise suppression abilities and impressive tread wear longevity, outshining many peers in the high-performance all-season category. But, the tire lacks a little in terms of wet traction and handling, where there's also a room for improvement in terms of winter performance.

Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4

Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4 Review

So what's the verdict? Well, the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 exhibits an impressive performance across varying conditions. With responsive and quick steering, it displays commendable traction both in dry and wet settings. While it might not be the frontrunner in every aspect, its overall performance remains above average. In terms of comfort, there's room for improvement, particularly concerning road vibrations and noise. However, its winter traction is particularly commendable, emerging as a standout among its peers in the high-performance all-season category. But keep in mind, that this winter performance comes at a cost, literally, it's one of the most expensive (UHPAS) tire out there right now.

Cooper Endeavor Plus

Cooper Endeavor Plus Review

So what do we have here? Well, the Cooper Endeavor Plus is a well-rounded tire with remarkable dry grip and tread life, attributed to its sophisticated structure and stiffer rubber composition. The tire although gives you a reliable winter and wet traction, it can still improve on its steering response there. Though that does not go for dry, where its overall handling feedback is pretty impressive. And yes, same goes for the tire's fuel economy and tread life. I mean there are no complaints there as well. But yes, the tire can still improve its comfort performance a little, in both noise and impact performance areas.

Firestone Destination LE3

Firestone Destination LE3 Review

The Firestone Destination LE3 offers a comprehensive performance profile, where there are both pros and cons. It exhibits commendable dry traction and braking efficacy, with its well designed grooves and edges, providing reliable and balanced steering feedback, (where it needs a little improvement in handling). And in wet conditions, the tire demonstrates significant improvement from its predecessor, with full-depth interlocking sipes. Though its snow grip is not as impressive. Furthermore, the tire's overall noise generation is relatively low, yet, its ride quality could benefit from further refinements. And as for fuel and tread life, both are commendable, thanks to the tire's low rolling resistance generation.

Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus

Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus Review

So overall, the key takeaway is this. While the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus has some areas of improvement, its strengths across various domains make it a solid choice for those seeking a high-performance all-season tire. Now the tire comes with superb performance on dry roads, where it stands out for its exceptional braking and acceleration, owed largely to its meticulously designed tread. Similarly for wet, it excels in both hydroplaning resistance and wet grip, setting the standard for high-performance all-season tires. And same is the case for winter performance. And if I talk about the cons, the tire's steering response might give drivers a slightly artificial feel, potentially affecting overall driving confidence during sharp turns. Furthermore, in terms of ride comfort, while the tire has an advanced design to minimize noise, there's room for enhancement, where the bumps cushioning also needs a bump up.

Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus

Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus Review

So is the tire worth it? Well the Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus is a comprehensive offering that exhibits a range of performance characteristics suitable for various road conditions. In terms of dry grip, it shines with its superior straight-line rolling and stopping power, making it a top choice for highway use. However, when it comes to handling, it doesn't quite measure up to its competitors. And this becomes even more obvious when it comes to wet conditions. Though it demonstrates competent hydroplaning resistance, at least in straight-line scenarios. Moreover, winter conditions reveal a more pronounced weakness in the tire, largely due to its rubber compound's lack of adaptability in colder temperatures. But the tire makes up for it, in the fuel efficiency and tread longevity departments. Last but not least, ride quality offers a mixed bag, where minor road inconsistencies are handled well, but in terms of noise, the DriveGuard Plus tends to be on the noisier side due to its stiffer sidewalls.

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